Learners’ Mathematical Personal Identities and Mathematics Learning

I explore and describe LMPIDs and their implications for learners’ achievements in mathematics and its learning. A qualitative research method was employed with a purposeful sample from one school in Gauteng Province, South Africa. Ten mathematics learners and three mathematics teachers were interviewed, and the learners’ parents completed questionnaires. It became evident that mathematics learners’ mindsets, beliefs, and attitudes are not isolated traits. They are socially constructed and shaped through relationships with others. Learners’ mindsets influence their attitudes either positively or negatively. These mindsets substantially affect how learners engage with mathematics, their level of competence and determination, their level of excitement, as well as their confidence, whether they find mathematics interesting or dull, challenging or easy. These attitudes shape how they relate to mathematics. All these qualities impact the development of LMPIDs, which in turn influence their achievements. High-achieving mathematics learners are those who receive the necessary support to excel in mathematics and related learning. I offer recommendations, supported by the data, for effective mathematics learning and achievement in Gauteng Province, South Africa, and beyond.